I read with interest the story in The Guardian on July 18, "An Overdue Apology" with regard to the incident in July 1958 when Louis Armstrong and his band performed in P.E.I. and had a reservation to stay at the Charlottetown Hotel.
In 1958, Armstrong was at the height of his fame and was one of the most famous musicians in the world. Very few musicians of his stature had ever performed in P.E.I. The performance was held at the Sports Arena, later known as the Kennedy Coliseum.
In 1958, the Charlottetown Hotel was the grandest hotel in Prince Edward Island and was owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway, a federal Crown corporation at the time. As Island historian, Jim Hornby, states in the Guardian story, when Louis Armstrong and his band were checking into the Charlottetown Hotel, a number of tourists from the American south complained to the manager that they did not wish to stay at a hotel with "negroes.” Armstrong and his band left the Charlottetown Hotel rather than create an unpleasant scene.
After leaving the Charlottetown Hotel, Louis Armstrong and his band went next door to the Dundee Motel, located at 200 Pownal St. (now known as the Dundee Arms). The Dundee Arms was owned by my late father, Dr. Joe McMillan.
Armstrong was greeted at the Dundee Motel by the manager, Loretta Perry, who said she and her husband Fred Perry would do everything possible to make their stay pleasant.
morning after the concert at the Sports Arena, Armstrong and his band were packing their equipment onto their bus, when they noticed a birthday card sitting at the reception desk at the Dundee Motel. Armstrong realized that it was Loretta's birthday. He then walked uptown, purchased a birthday card and a bouquet of flowers. He signed the card Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong and also had it signed by every one of his band members.
Prior to boarding the bus, Louis Armstrong called for Loretta and insisted that she stand at the top of the front steps of the Dundee Motel. Armstrong presented her with the birthday card and the bouquet of flowers. He then went to the bus to get his trumpet and at the foot of the steps, played Happy Birthday to Loretta Perry. He then thanked her for making their stay at the Dundee Motel so pleasant.
In the early 1960s, Fred and Loretta Perry moved to Souris where they owned and operated the Perry Funeral Home. In the fall of 1977, I accepted a teaching position at Souris Regional High School. At the time, Fred and Loretta Perry were the only people in Souris that I knew. Fred and Loretta Perry were extremely kind to me during the four years that I taught at Souris Regional High School.
their retirement, Fred and Loretta moved back to Charlottetown. They were married for over 40 years but had no children. Fred predeceased Loretta. I am in possession of the birthday card given to Loretta Perry by Louis Armstrong in 1958. it is one of my most prized possessions. It is a memento of an interesting incident in Island history and a tribute to a woman who was very kind to me and the McMillan family.
John A. McMillan, whose father owned the Dundee Motel (now the Dundee Arms) lives in Charlottetown
